Part One of "Sunday In New York City With Jose"
or
"How I Ate My Way From 14th and 9th Ave. Up to 168th and Broadway"

I got some good sleep last night. I didn't really get out of bed - well, the futon - until around 10:30. I think I'm finally catching up on all the sleep I've lost over the past two weeks, and getting the rest that I've been needing too.
Once I was up and showered, I headed down to Chelsea to meet my friend, John, for brunch at the Chelsea Market. It was my first time there, although I have had many treats from some of the vendors therein. I hopped on the A train, transferred over to the B for a stretch, then back on the A. *The C is out this weekend, so no express service. I detrained at 14th, and exited out the 16th Street exit, and walked over to 9th Avenue where I met my friend, John.
He gave me a guided tour of the place. Wonderful place. It was the former home of the National Biscuit Company (a.k.a. Nabisco), and with all the various bakeries in there, the ghost of it's former incarnation is still present - at least in the smells of butter, vanilla, cinnamon and chocolate wafting through the air.
Before setting down for some grub, we did a quick tour of the various emporiums. I made some mental notes along the way - lots of places I know I'll be going back to soon. After a nice stroll the Italian market, we headed to Hale and Hearty Soups for some, what else?, soup. I had their Chicken and Asparagus Bisque. Quite good, and the perfect cup to take some of the chill out of the air. -And the soup crackers are quite addictive too.
After heading we had finished our soups, we sat and played catch up. Lots of gossip! We both seem to be in good spots right now. Yes, there may be an air of tentativeness in the air, but that's part of the life of an "artiste". I guess.
Then came a stop at Amy's Breads. Then another one at another bakery where I picked up a something they called a "Chinese Cookie". Quite delish! Basically a shortbread cookies with a swirl of cocoa in it. Not too sweet, a touch of salt, and a great crumb. And quite a bargain too! Only $1.25, and that cookie had some heft to it!
Then it was over to the Fat Witch to pick up some brownies. WOW!! I had sampled some Fat Witch brownies last week, and I just had to sample some more! Truly wonderful brownies. Just right balance of cakey and fudgey. Some interesting "flavors", but nothing too far out or exotic. I selected four of them. And they are still in their wrapping in their box. I think I'm going to send a few home to Steve tomorrow. They make a Wicked Witch (Chocolate Mint Brownie) which has become the official brownie for the show,
Wicked - even has the show logo on the label. My personal sampler today consists of one of each of the following: Fat Witch, Fat Witch Walnut, Red Witch and Java Witch.
To decipher those descriptions...
http://www.fatwitch.comThen we headed over to Eleni's which is known for their exquisite hand-decorated cookies. They had some nice things on display, but they seemed a little lacking in variety today. Alas, I just ended up window-shopping there this afternoon.
http://www.elenis.comAfter some more sampling at various stalls, we headed back out onto 9th Avenue, into the sun and parted ways. He headed back down south to his apartment, and I headed back up north...